Economist: County must act on plan

Noted economist William Fruth has a simple message for county commissioners who are considering adopting a long-term economic development plan: Do it now.

"You have no chance if you don't try," Fruth said. "That's the bottom line."

Fruth has visited Hernando County at least three times in the last five years and stressed the importance of job diversification and spending money on economic development.

Unless government and community leaders can reverse the dependence on low-paying service and retail jobs and start setting aside more land for industrial needs, Hernando County's economy will collapse, according to Fruth, president of POLICOM Corp., an independent economics research firm in Palm City.

To avoid that, he said the public and private sector must map out a long-range economic plan and reaffirm their commitment to economic growth. With Hernando County's unemployment rate nudging 15 percent, the time is now, he said.

Hernando County now pays its workers some of the lowest wages in the nation. And, because of its large senior population, much of the money circulating in the county is in the form of government transfer payments, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Hernando County has plenty of positives that could attract industry, he said. The county is situated near major highways, including Interstate 75 and the Suncoast Parkway.

It is home to a large airport and adjacent industrial park, which is a beacon for manufacturers who typically pay higher wages.

Fruth said it is vital to encourage high-paying primary employers and to do that, it will take a concerted effort from schools, colleges, county government and the public, he said.

Fruth said a county cannot survive unless it is able to generate its own wealth and Hernando County is not doing a good job of that right now.

Hernando needs to attract "wealth-producing" primary industries that bring money into the area and, through their company payrolls, that money is funneled among the residents and government.

"Retail does not do that," he said. "Retail consumes the wealth. It can't grow any greater than the amount of disposable income at any point in time. Retail doesn't cause the economy, it is the result of the economy."

Fruth stressed that county commissioners must make a commitment to land-banking - setting aside industrial land or property suitable for a university such as Pasco-Hernando Community College or the University or South Florida to expand and train the local work force.

"The single most important issue relative to causing economic growth is the availability of improved and approved real estate for primary employers," Fruth said. "If you do not have it, you cannot improve your economy because there is no place for those enterprises to locate."

And commissioners must ensure the property is already zoned, the permits are in place and the roads, sewer and other infrastructure is there.

Fruth said government leaders in Marion County, considered by many as being in the "middle of nowhere," adopted a long-term economic plan that caused a huge influx of manufacturing to that area.

Today, Marion County leads Florida in having the largest percentage of its workforce employed in manufacturing, he said.

If Marion County can do it, so can Hernando County, he said.

Also, the county must work to improve its turnaround time for commercial permits. Right now, the county does not have the ability to issue a building permit within 90 days and that is unacceptable, he said.

In some communities, such as Osceola County, economic officials have the authority to issue a permit in seven days to a primary industry that meets the criteria for job creation and income levels, Fruth said.

Given the dog-eat-dog world of competition out there right now, it is imperative that the turnaround of permits be improved, he said.

"Companies don't have to put up with (long waits)," he said. "These companies can pick and choose where they want to go."

Hernando County commissioners don't have to so much add incentives to prospective clients as they need to remove the "disincentives," he said.

Fruth said he is pleased to hear commissioners are considering a long-term plan this Tuesday.

Business Development Director Mike McHugh, he said, needs the tools to recruit and the county needs a workable plan.

"You need to have a long-term, aggressive plan and the rules understood at the outset so that (McHugh) can take the pig to market," he said.